Darryl Wilkinson

After giving out sales percentages that show Harmony remotes have almost taken over the world, Logitech showed off their newest Harmony remote control, the Harmony 1000. The design is a departure from that of the current models, which are the traditional long and skinny shape. The Harmony 1000 is rectangular, less than 1/2 inch thick, and has a 3.5-inch color touch screen that's very bright - the Logitech folks said they're using a screen originally designed for car GPS navigation systems - and extremely sensative to the touch. They've redesigned the screen layouts, too, making using the new remote even easier than any of their other models - which I wasn't sure was possible. It'll be available for $499 in October. Infrared extenders are $149.

In a 2,000 square foot house filled with HP gear and PCs that was built specifically on the parking lot outside the convention center, Exceptional Innovation demonstrated the company's Life|ware 1.0.2 home control software that's designed to create a fully integrated electronic home based around Media Center PCs. The new Life|ware software builds on Media Center features and, based on direct connection with Life|link Devices-enabled devices, can control things like motorized shades, motorized mounts for plasma or front projection TVs, lighting, and even your oven. You can even schedule things by astronomical time.

NuVo Technologies showed off the company's new Grand Concerto multiroom audio system. The coolest part of the system is the new control pad that uses an OLED display that the NuVo people say can show up to eight readable character lines. The character height for each line is selectable, and different lines can have different character heights. The NuVo folks say that, in addition to being bright enough to be readable in rooms with lots of sunlight, the control pad display has a 180-degree viewing angle.

Two new Architectural Speaker Series (otherwise known as in-wall and in-ceiling speakers) models are coming from Definitive Technology this fall. The Reference Ceiling Speaker UIW RCS II is designed for use as in-ceiling front main left, center, and right speakers or as rear or side speakers. Built like a brick house, the RSC II uses a non-resonant, sealed, medite enclosure. The sealed enclosure helps the speaker to provide nearly identical performance regardless of the available air space above the ceiling. The new model is a serious in-ceiling offering. With outer dimensions of 15.5 inches by 15.5 inches (and 5 7/8 inches deep), the RCS II is large enough to hold a forward-angled D'Appolito driver array using two 5.25-inch bass/midrange drivers and a one-inch pure aluminum tweeter plus a pair of 6.5-inch pressure-coupled planar low-bass radiators.

Sony put a little more "pro" and a little less "sumer" in its latest high-definition camcorder, the HDR-FX7. The new $3,500 model is the first 1080i HDV camcorder to include Sony's three-chip ClearVID CMOS sensor technology, of which Sony claims the primary benefits are high-speed data transfer rates and lower power consumption. The three-chip configuration along with Sony's "Enhanced Imaging Processor" is said to provide higher video resolution, greater light sensitivity with minimal amounts of picture noise, and more accurate color reproduction than previous Sony models.

Bang & Olufsen has come out with another electronics-with-style product - this time in the form of a 23-inch LCD TV. The Danish manufacturer says the new BeoCenter 6-23 incorporates a 23-inch 16:9 TFT LCD panel with an "anti-reflection coated and high-glare" screen that is designed to improve contrast and brightness - especially in day lit rooms. The new screen also offers a wider viewing angle, a feature that B&O says is especially important in a TV placed in a kitchen or hallway, which are typical locations for a home owner's secondary television.

Jazz fans will have something to sing about on October 24th when Giving' It Up, a collaboration of singer/guitarist/songwriter George Benson and vocalist/songwriter Al Jarreau - both multiple GRAMMY winners, will be released as a Monster Music SuperDisc.

Tributaries Cable, the no-nonsense (and even less hype) cable and accessories company, is bringing out a new gadget that aims to maintain the full performance of high-definition video over HDMI cable runs as long as 50 meters (165 feet).

Flat-panel TVs and high-tech A/V gear may look cool, but in actual operation they're often physically far from it. Active Thermal Management has a way to keep displays and other heat-generating components (like amplifiers) mounted in tight spaces cool and comfortable. Reducing excess heat generated by these devices can often mean much longer lifespans and higher reliability.